Talky talky talky

My favorite word that Nora is saying right now is "Almost!" As in, we are almost home or almost done with something. It's so stinkin' cute. I also love that when we pull into our driveway she says, "Hooome." It's what I would say when we got home and now she it's her job to alert us of our return to the house. She also likes calling out to you by saying, "Where are you?" which kind of sounds like "Whereareyouuuuu?" all smooshed together into one word. When she says, "Listen" she puts her hand up to cheek or ear and gets real still.

Nora is also working on more sentence type contruction. The other day she said "Closed eyes birdies" when referring to sleeping birds in a book.

More to add to the list:
Listen
Almost
Home
Mommy kiss
Daddy kiss
Nora kiss
This
Turn this way
Zebra
Piano
Train
Plane
Mommy open please
Pony
Socks and shoes
Thank you Stell (Stella, the dog)
Here you go Stell
Eat food
Eat water mouth (to drink)
Nora hot food (and then blows on it)
Nora sit down on mommy lap
Mommy's lap
Hiccups
Up top Daddy's head
Rhino
Bathroom
Music
Reach
Nora do it

Talkin' About Talking

Nora's language continues to develop, which I am enjoying so much! She's moving from two-word combos to short sentences. Some of the little phrases we often hear include:

"Daddy (Mommy, Stella), where are you?"
"Thank you Mommy."
"Excuse me Mommy."
"More berries please."
"Daddy, spin Nora."
"Stella, outside."

No, Nor, Nora

Nora has learned to say her own name. At first, I totally missed that she was saying "Nora" because it can sound like she is saying "no." I was really confused, too, because she was saying (what I thought was) "no" at times that didn't make sense. Finally (and probably to the relief of Nora) I got it! And I was so excited that Nora was saying her own name that I'm pretty sure I squealed like a little kid on Christmas morning.

It still sounds a bit like she is saying "no" or "Nowr" but she knows who she is and what belongs to her so the context works! :)

Feb 2013

More Words

We have a chatty Nora on our hands! I know that is very surprising given how talkative her parents are.  :) We really do love hearing her speak and are occasionally blown away when she says a new word. Last week's surprise-to-mommy-word was "purple."

Here are some more words that she is using:

Purple
Yellow
Hand
Ear
Hair
Belly button
Apple sauce (this is adorable - applebaba is how is sounds when she says it)
Bark bark
Hippo
Bath
Choo choo
Hot dog
Minnie (for Minnie Mouse)
Milk (sounds like "moe")
Bye
Duck
Fruit
Kick
Hop
Stomp

Enjoying some applebaba.

For the first list of words that we posted, click here.

14 Months Old

Nora is 14 months old. There are so many things that I have been neglecting to share on the blog about what she is doing now. Mostly because what she is doing sure does keep me busy!!

She is walking. Her first steps were at Day Care on August 20. Four little steps. The next morning she took three more, which we got on video. Last week she started walking backwards. She attempts to run a bit, but that skill is still in the "trying to perfect" phase. Sometimes she trips and falls, giving me yet another baby-induced heart attack.  Sometimes when she trips and falls, she knocks her noggin. I feel terrible every time it happens. I suppose this is an early lesson that I can't protect her from everything.

She is talking. I know she has been for a while, but her vocabulary is increasing. She is saying thank you, ta da, mom mom, tick-tick (tickle-tickle), hi (which sometimes also mean bye), up (we are working on please with that), duck, and nuht-uh (no). She has been saying da da and dog dog for quite some time. She is also making animal sounds like "oof oof" for a dog, "mmmmmm" for a cow, and "na" for a horse. It's dang cute.

Nora also very clearly understands what we say more and more. What an amazing process to watch unfold, cognition!

And laughing. What a laugh this little girl has! Her giggles are the best. We love her cheerfulness.

Nora loves to pick out a book, sit on our laps, and have us read it to her. She also loves being outdoors. Whether it is in the back yard, taking a walk down the street, going for a spin in her stroller, or playing at the park, this child loves being outside.

She is also a bit of a momma's girl. We spend a lot of time together, especially now that Jeff is in his travel season, so I suppose it is to be expected. I don't mind a momma's girl; I love the snuggles and playtime and being a part of her growing and discovering. I just want her to also be ok spending time with other people. I understand this is a common phase for kids to go through and we do get out and about. On M, W, F she is at daycare. On Tuesdays we have lunch at my office. We run errands on the weekend. We go to the park. We have baby swim class on Saturdays.

So 14 months. Here we are. Happy. Talking. Walking. Loving.